THE FOLKLORE OF PLANTS: Day Lily

Lisa Karen Miller

          Originating in China and Korea, the day lily was originally used as a vegetable. Young shoots were prepared like asparagus or added to salads. The buds were braised in a wok, deep-fried in batter, or added to soups. The dried blossoms, called “Golden Needles” were used as a seasoning, and still are today.

          They were brought to North America by European immigrants.  Because the tuberous roots can survive for weeks unplanted, they were easy to transport across the ocean and then across America via wagon train.

When the tubers were bounced off wagons and railroad cars, they simply patiently waited for enough rain and soil to cover them. They now bloom in ditches by roadsides and railroad tracks.  Two of its common names are “Ditch lily” and “Railroad lily.”

          It is truly remarkable to think how we changed the landscape of this continent just by coming here.

          Hemerocallis means “Beauty for a day” in Greek, because each flower only lasts for a day. It symbolizes tenderness, purity, coquetry, diversity, and tenacity.  The day lily is indeed tough rooted, prolific, and hard to kill.

          Not a true lily, it has tubers instead of bulbs.  It was given its common name because the bloom resembles that of a lily.

          The plant was unknown in Europe before the Renaissance; this new kind of “lily” was first mentioned in the sixteenth century by French and Belgian botanists such as Rembert Dodoens, Carolus Clusius, and Matthias de l’Obel. In Europe it became known as St. Joseph’s lily.

           Enthusiastic hybridizers have created over 97,000 cultivars. Bowling Green, Kentucky native Mitchell Leichardt contributed quite a few, many of which were displayed in front of the nursery that bore his name on Nashville Road.  If you’ve ever received a day lily catalog from a nursery, you know that dozens of new varieties are introduced each year.

          Day lilies feature in many friendship gardens – those whose plants have been shared by friends, or planted in their honor or memory.  Because it multiplies so abundantly, it is a flower that can be shared with others, while losing nothing.

          The day lily apparently has the power to diminish sorrow by causing forgetfulness. The Chinese name for the daylily is xuan-ca —xuan means “forget worries”; cao means “herb.” It also serves as the Chinese emblem of the mother.

          Divide your day lilies about every third year.  If they become too crowded, their bloom may diminish or cease. The tough tubers may also starve surrounding plants of nutrients and water.

          Day lilies, like true friendship, are hard to kill.   

© Copyright 2023 Lisa Karen Miller